Dermot Desmond’s ally? There aren’t many Celtic fans who care for Gordon Strachan’s opinions…

Gordon Strachan has been wheeled out to bolster support for Dermot Desmond for the second time in a week.

Apparently, that is what passes for news at the Daily Record these days.

And who exactly is it supposed to convince?

Needless to say, not too many Celtic fans respect the opinions of Gordon Strachan at this point.

The reason is simple.

He is a Dermot Desmond ally.

The Record wants us to believe Strachan had the inside track on Martin O’Neill’s decision to stay

Have a look at how the Daily Record dresses it up.

Martin O’Neill’s “moment of Celtic clarity” that “decided his future”, revealed by a “Dermot Desmond ally”.

You would think the man had been sitting in the room.

Here is what Strachan actually said:

Every manager has a moment of doubt after a painful defeat where they question if they want to continue. But after stepping back and reflecting, Martin O’Neill realised how good the opportunity at Celtic is.

That’s it.

That’s the revelation.

Strachan has no inside track on anything.

He is giving his opinion on O’Neill’s decision – and it is exactly the same opinion that any supporter on the 38 bus could have given you for free.

It’s a manager having a wobble, then thinking better of it.

Where is the clarity in that?

Stop the presses.

‘Dermot Desmond’s ally’ is supposed to carry clout, but it couldn’t be further from the truth

The Record assumes that because he is ‘Dermot Desmond’s ally’, his opinion actually carries some weight.

Now, I’ll give them this much.

Strachan worked closely with the absent meddling golfer during his time in the dugout, and the pair have been very public about their admiration for each other over the years.

That is precisely the problem.

When the man doing the talking has a long history of singing the praises of the principal shareholder, nobody is listening for an honest assessment.

They are listening for the party line.

But most Celtic fans pay no attention to it.

Which is why I find it hilarious that the Record thinks the label sells the story.

Make no mistake, it is the very reason people scroll past.

If anything, it does the opposite.

Everybody is coming out of the woodwork because we have had a couple of good domestic results

Let’s be honest about what is going on here.

Celtic beat Motherwell.

Then we put seven past Hearts.

And suddenly the mood music changes and everybody has an opinion.

Funnily enough, Strachan even had a line about that.

Pundits and fans can be overly reactionary.

Well, Gordon, so can the people who write the headlines.

It almost seems as if there is an attempt to whitewash over our European campaign.

A Ferencvaros defeat on the opening night.

A heavy loss to Benfica.

A cup exit and a league defeat at the hands of the Ibrox side before the international break.

None of that has gone anywhere because we’ve beaten a couple of teams at Parkhead.

Or did I miss the memo that said otherwise?

Martin O’Neill is bullish about the Europa League all of a sudden, and I’ll believe it when I see it

Then there is the manager himself.

A few weeks ago he was weighing up his future.

Now he is bullish about our chances in the Europa League.

All of a sudden.

Maybe he is right.

Then again, I can only judge him by what I’ve seen from the team in Europe so far.

And that, frankly, has been grim.

Thursday night’s game against Celta Vigo will either bring us crashing back down to earth with a reality check, or an unlikely win could help to really kickstart our season.

I know which one I’m hoping for.

I also know which one the board would prefer, with the books to balance and the ticket money already in the bank.

Win, and the Record will tell us the corner has been turned.

Lose, and the same people will be quietly looking for another angle.

We need to see the talking done on the park, not in the pages of the Record

Regardless of what happens on Thursday, ‘Dermot Desmond’s ally’ isn’t going to change our opinions about anything.

Neither is a quote handed to a betting company and passed off as the inside story.

We have been here before, and we’ve heard it all before.

Celtic fans judge this club by what happens on the pitch and in the boardroom.

Not by who the Record can find to say something nice about the man at the top.

The talking needs to be done by the players, in Vigo’s case on Thursday night.

And by the board, in the transfer windows and in the way they treat the support.

Until then, Gordon, save your breath.

We are not listening, are we?

Not a chance…

Choose Read Celtic as a ‘Preferred Source’ on Google News for quick access to the news you value.